Highway guardrail



Jan. 14, 1941 V K. F. DAILEY HIGHWAY GUARDI QAIL Filed April 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet I Jan. 14, 1941.

K. F. DAILEY HIGHWAY GUARDRAIL Filed April 26, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 12 Claims.

This invention relates to guardrails of the type generally employed at the side edges of highways in the vicinity of curves, embankments and other dangerous sections. Primarily, the invention is directed to the provision of a guardrail which will be mounted on supporting posts and disposed at about the same elevation as the center of gravity of the average vehicle, the rail having a longitudinally extending shoulder portion which projects toward the road to a greater degree than the remaining portions of the rail for the purpose of engaging the wheels of a vehicle coming in contact therewith, above the center of the hubs and preventing any tendency of the vehicle to climb the'guard or overturn.

It is desired also to so form the rail that the portion thereof immediately below the abovementioned shoulder will recede or slope away from the shoulder to provide a smooth, continuous, wedge-like surface for a vehicle to engage and slide along after coming into contact with the rail, the sloping part of the rail serving to exert a downward force on the vehicle and prevent it from raising up after engaging the rail.

An object resides in forming the rail portion of the guard from elongated strips of metal which have been rolled or stamped to provide a channel-shaped cross section, making the rail relatively inflexible though manufactured from comparatively light gage material.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for resiliently mounting the guardrail on the supporting posts in order to absorb shocks transmitted to the rail by a vehicle coming into forceful contact therewith.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which the invention has been illustrated in several of its modified forms.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a highway provided with a guardrail formed in accordance with the present invention; I

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the rail at one of the supporting posts;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line III-IIT of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the rail at a supporting post and showing a joint between a plurality of the sections of which the rail is composed;

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line V-V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a bracket employed in securing the rail portion of the guard to a supporting post;

Fig. 7 is a similar view of one end of the rail portion of the guard;

Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse sectional view of a highway at a curve where the highway is banked and is provided with a modified form of guard;

its entirety. This guard is supported adjacent the side edge of a highway 2 by posts 3 which are embedded in the shoulders of the highway. Each post isvprovided with a transversely extending opening through which a bolt 4 extends for the purpose of securing a resilient bracket 5 thereto. In the preferred form of the invention, the bracket includes a strip having a body portion .6, the center of which is bowed as at I, the bowed portion being provided with an opening through which the bolt 4 extends. The end portions of the body 6 are bent as at 8 to provide legs 9 which extend toward one another and away from the post at a' slight angle. The ends of the legs are bent to provide laterally directed extensions ID. The latter members are formed with elongated openings II for the reception of shoulder screws l2 employed in securing the longitudinally extending rails I3 to the brackets.

In the preferred form of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the extensions Ill are spaced and extend away from the posts at substantially right angles, the upper extension being slightly greater in length than the lower one. The rail I3 is formed from a plurality of elongated sections of metallic strips which are bent longitudinally to provide rearwardly directed flanges l4 and at the upper and lower edges thereof, the former being wider than the latter and each having elongated openings formed adjacent its ends. The openings in the flanges are spaced to conform to the spacing between the openings II in the extensions on the brackets 5. The openings are elongated to permit of expansion and contraction of the rails when they are connected with the supporting posts.

As shown in Fig. 5, the screws I? have rectangular shanks which extend through the openings in the flanges of the rails andthe extensions of the brackets and serve to resist turning movement of the bolts when the nuts I6 are applied to the threaded shanks ll of the bolts. Between the flanges i l and I5 of the rails, the body is also longitudinally bent to give the rail section a substantially V-shaped cross section between the flanges. As the lower flange is shorter than the upper one, the upper portion of the rail will be disposed at. a greater distance from the supporting posts and will provide the rail with an overhanging portion which will be disposed slightly above the hubs of the wheels of the average motor vehicle.

The body of the rail inclines or slopes down- .wardly away from the overhanging portion to provide a wedge-like surface for engagement with the vehicle wheel hubs and prevent upward motion after the Wheels have once engaged the rail. The body portions of the rail sections are also provided adjacent their ends with slotted openings through which shouldered screws extend to connect the sections of the rail to form a continuous strip between the supporting posts. The extent the upper portion of the rail overhangs the lower portion is indicated in Fig. 2 by the letter X.

A modified form of rail is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, the former figure being a transverse section of a highway at a curve where the highway is banked and the guardrail is arranged between the edge of the highway and an embankment. In this form, while the highway surface is inclined, the supporting posts are vertically arranged. The bracket members 6a have laterally directed extensions which are parallel but extend away from the supporting posts at a downwardly inclined angle. The upper extension 18 is considerably longer than the lower extension and serves to project the upper portion of the rail a greater distance beyond the lower portion as indicated by the letter Y in Fig. 9. Both forms of the brackets 6 and 6a have the resilient legs 9 which serve when the rail is engaged by a vehicle to absorb the shock and permit a slight movement of the rail toward the supporting posts. After the rail is moved a sufficient distance toward the posts, the inner ends of the extensions l and I8 will engage the posts and resist further movement of the rail. The rail sections in the forms of the invention just described are substantially identical, the difierence in the forms being entirely in the brackets.

In Fig. 10, a further modification is shown wherein the rail is substantially M-shaped in cross section, the flanges l9 being of equal width. This type of rail is adapted for use only with the brackets 6a which have the longer upper extensions I8. Due to the longer extension, the upper portion of the rail will overhang the lower portion as in the preferred form even though the flanges of the rail portions are of equal width.

Further modified forms of rail sections are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. In Fig. 11, the body portion of the rail section 20 is provided with transversely spaced offset portions 2| and 22. The former is disposed at the top of the rail and overhangs the latter portion when the rail is installed. In this form, the upper flange is also considerably wider than the lower flange. This section of rail is adapted for use with either form of brackets above described.

The rail shown in Fig. 12 is similar to the rail first described but the body of the rail is formed with parallel offset portions. The center of the rail is positioned rearwardly with respect to the edge portions and the upper edge portion is disposed slightly in advance of the lower portion. This rail also has a wider flange at its upper longitudinal edge.

It will be noted that in all the forms of rails described above, the upper portion of the rail overhangs the lower portion when the rail is installed. As mentioned previously, this is'done to provide the rails with a continuous portion which will engage the wheels of a vehicle slightly above the center to prevent the wheels from bouncing or otherwise raising up while the vehicle is in engagement with the former.

Both forms of brackets have the body provided with a curved portion through which the bolts used for securing the brackets to the supporting posts extend. By this arrangement, when the rail is engaged by a vehicle and the extensions to which the rail is secured move toward the bracket, the end portions of the body in engagement with the posts will be free to move longitudinally of the posts to compensate for the difference in length caused by the legs 9 moving into a position parallel with the body portion. When this movement occurs, the curved portion of the rail will tend to flatten out and also absorb some of the shock caused by the vehicle engaging the rail.

In certain instances, it may be found desirable to rigidly connect the ends of the rail sections to form a continuous rail. When mounting such. a rail, it cannot be rigidly anchored to the supporting posts because variations in length due to expansion or contraction must be permitted. One method of mounting a continuous rail is shown in Fig. 13 wherein a usual bracket 6 has its leg portions 9 provided with openings in registration with the outer surfaces of the rail flanges. Retaining strips 23. extend through the openings and have their inner ends bent to engage the inner surfaces of the bracket extensions. The

outer ends of the strips 23 are bent around the rail at the upper and lower edges to retain it in position on the bracket. By employing this method of mounting, the rails have no positive connection with the brackets and may move in response to temperature changes without resistance.

What is claimed is:

1. A highway guard comprising spaced posts, a flexible strap carried by each post in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis thereof, the ends of each strap being directed toward each other and terminating in. spaced lateral extensions, a rail extending from post to post, said rail being formed from a metallic ribbon bent longitudinally to provide said ribbon with a substantially V-shaped cross section, and rearwardly extending flanges at the longitudinal edges of said ribbon, the upper flange being wider than the lower flange to cause the upper portion of said rail to overhang the lower portion, said flanges being secured to the lateral extensions of said straps.

2. A highway guard comprising spaced posts, a strap carried by each post in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis thereof, the end portions of each strap extending toward each other and away from the post at a slight angle, the strap ends terminating in spaced lateral extensions, and a rail extending from post to post, said rail. being formed from a metallic strip-bent longitudinally to provide a pair of rearwardly extending flanges joined by a V-shaped body, the upper flange being wider than the lower to cause the upper portion of the rail to overhang the lower portion, said flanges being secured to the lateral extensions of said straps.

3. A highway guard comprising spaced posts, a strap carried by each post in parallel relationship with the longitudinal axis thereof, the end portions of each strap extending toward one another and away from the post at a. slight angle and terminating in spaced substantially horizontal extensions, and a rail extending from post to post and supported by said extensions, said rail being formed froma metallic strip having flanges at its longitudinal edges, the flange at the top of said rail being wider than the bottom flange to cause the upper portion of said rail to overhang the lower portion.

4. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts, a rail extending from post to post, said rail being channel-shaped in cross section and having the body thereof bent longitudinally to stiffen the rail, means for securing said rail to the supporting posts comprising a plurality of straps, each of which is bowed at its central portion and has the end portions directed toward one another and terminated in spaced lateral extensions, and bolt means for securing the flanges of the rail to the extensions of said straps.

5. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts, a rail extending from post to post, said rail being channel-shaped in cross section to provide rearwardly disposed flanges, means for securing said rail to the supporting posts comprising a plurality of straps each of which is attached to a post and has a bowed central portion, the end portions of the strap being directed toward one another and terminated in angular extensions, and bolt means for securing the flanges of said rail to the angular extensions of said straps.

6. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts and a rail with longitudinal flanges extending between the posts, means for attaching the rail to said posts comprising a plurality of straps having the longitudinal axes thereof disposed at right angles to that of said rail, each of said straps including a body having a bowed central portion and end portions extending toward one another, said end portions terminating in spaced laterally directed extensions.

'7. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts and a rail with longitudinal flanges extending between the posts, means for attaching the rail to said posts comprising a plurality of straps having the longitudinal axes thereof disposed in parallel relation to that of said posts, each of said straps including abody having a bowed central portion and end portions directed toward one another and away from said body at a slight angle, said end portions terminating in angularly directed extensions of unequal length.

8. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts and a rail with longitudinal flanges extending between the posts, means for attaching the rail to said posts comprising a plurality of straps having the longitudinal axes thereof disposed in parallel relation to that of said posts, each of said straps including a body having a bowed central portion and end portions directed toward one another and away from said body at a slight angle, said end portions terminating in parallel extensions disposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the supporting post.

9. In a highway guard of the type having spaced supporting posts and a rail with longitudinal flanges extending between the posts, means for attaching the rail to said posts comprising a plurality of straps having the longitudinal axes thereof disposed inparallel relation to that of said posts, each of said straps including a body having a bowed central portion and end portions directed toward one another and away from said body at a slight angle, said end portions terminating in parallel extensions disposed at an angle to the horizontal.

10. In a highway guardrail, a plurality of vertically disposed posts, a rail member extending along. beside the posts in substantially parallel relationship to the highway surface, said rail having an elongated strip-like body provided with a longitudinal bend, a longitudinally extending rearwardly directed flange at the upper and lower edges of said body, said upper flange being of greater width than said lower flange, and means for connecting said. rail with said posts, said means comprising a plurality of strap sections having the longitudinal axes at right angles to the longitudinal axis of said rail, each of said strap sections having a body portion secured to a post and extending above and below the upper and lower edge of said rail, the end portions of the strap section being bent toward the rail and terminating in spaced laterally directed extensions, the spacing between the upper and lower surfaces of the upper and lower extensions being substantially equal to the spacing between the flanges on said rail, and means for securing the flanges of the rail to said extensions.

11. In a highway guardrail, a plurality of spaced vertically extending posts, a rail extending alongside said posts in substantially parallel relationship to the surface of the highway, said rail having a relatively narrow body provided minating in spaced parallel extensions, the upper extension having greater length than the lower extension, and means for securing the flanges of the rail to said extensions.

12. In a highway guardrail, a plurality of spaced vertically extending posts, a rail extend- 1 ing alongside said posts in substantially parallel relationship to the surface of the highway, said rail having a relatively narrow body provided with a longitudinally extending bend and longitudinally extending rearwardly directed flanges at the upper and lower edges, means for securing said rail to said posts comprising a plurality of strap sections disposed with the longitudinal axes thereof substantially parallel with that of said post, each of said straps having .a bowed body portion secured at the center thereof to a post and extending above and below the edges of said rail, the end portions of the body portion being bent away from the post and toward the rail and terminating in spaced parallel extensions, the upper extension having greater length than the lower extension, and means for securing the flanges of the rail to said extensions.

KARL F. DAILEY. 

